Monday, September 30, 2019

One of the worst things about summer is that my hummingbirds go away. It's better for them, of course, since there are real flowers everywhere and all the bugs they can eat, and that's healthier for them. This summer the crows nested just across from our bedroom window and we watched them have and raise three little baby crows. Still at the end of every summer I get worried that they won't come back.

Mythologically, hummingbirds are supposed to be good luck, bringers of healing, good luck, and joy. The Aztec priests carried a staff decorated with hummingbird feathers that they used to suck the evil out of anyone struck by a curse. Almost everyone across the Americas has a story about hummingbirds as the spirit of people who have passed away.

Anyway, they started showing back up last week. In the beginning it's always the younger ones first, who probably don't know where all the late-season secrets are. In a few weeks they'll all be here, flashing back and forth. The older ones aren't afraid of us at all and it's possible to sit at the window and watch them from a foot away. They could be good luck, and even if they're not they're good luck anyway.

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